3.5 Published in 2011 before all the Hamilton hoopla, though very handy for understanding it! Written for elementary/middle school. Clear and concise and age-appropriate considering some of Hamilton's scandals. Gets a little mired in details, especially of the War for Independence, but that reflects the thoroughness of research and integrating it. Creates a valiant portrait of Hamilton himself -- both intellectually and militarily. Great traits to have in a hero. Overall, gives a sense of the difficulty of building a government from scratch, not to mention the challenges of extracting an entire people from another's country's rule. Her preface has a noble intent: "If I could have one wish for the present generation, it would be that they are motivated by the same sense of justice and equally insistent on defending it." ( )

Brief biography of Alexander Hamilton. It seemed to have little of the understated humour that I expect from a Jean Fritz book, but that may have been because I listened to it on audio. Hamilton seems to have been astonishingly assertive, energetic, intelligent, and emotional. That he managed to die in a duel before he turned 50 is not that surprising.

Checked out the book, which had an interesting style of illustration. ( )

This book is about the first, and possibly the most famous, treasurers in the United States, Alexander Hamilton. It starts in Alexander's home Charlestown, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Hamilton moves to New York to go to the King's University (now Columbia University). He became a writer for many news papers. In the revolutionary war Hamilton became a Captain. He supplied the soldiers with uniforms and did a bit of training. During the Battle of Yorktown, Washington ordered Hamilton and his men to just use their bayonets, and the Americans won the battle. Hamilton did earn the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and got a small brigade of soldiers. After the war Hamilton had a son named Philip, so he resigned from the army. Alexander Hamilton then became a statesman. Hamilton did sign the constitution as Representative of New York. Hamilton once Washington became president Hamilton became the secretary of the Treasury. When the election was between Jefferson and Burr, Hamilton voted for Jefferson. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel and ultimately won. Alexander Hamilton died the next day.
This book was good, I kind of liked it. It did get slow at parts, but that is okay for the times it was nice and a little intense. I did like the theme of Hamilton. (Watch the play.) I like studding America and the treasury especially, so it was nice there. The best part was when he was in the army, because it wasn't slow at all, and I love the army. If you have a friend who likes non-fiction have them read this book. ( )

Alexander Hamilton is very popular now because there is a musical about his life on broadway. He was a very important founding father but not as famous as Washington and Jefferson because he died at a younger age. This book tells about his life. He was born on the island of Nevis in the West Indies. His father was from Scotland. They did not have land or opportunities but Hamilton made the most of what he had. He learned all he could and had talent to get an important job at a young age. Everyone saw how much potential he had and sent him to America to get more education. In America he got involved in the revolution. He wrote propaganda against the British and also was in demonstrations. When the war began, he was a soldier but people saw his talent as a writer and this helped to get the support from the new government to fight. George Washington saw his talents and got advice from him. We learn a lot about Hamilton from his letters to his friend Laurens. Hamilton was also very opposed to slavery. Hamilton spent a lot of time writing letters. The books tells about him getting married to Eliza and other important facts about the war. There is a part about the traitor Benedict Arnold. After they won the war, Hamilton was happy that George Washington became president. Hamilton wrote many essays to get people to agree on the constitution. Washington wanted Hamilton to help in the new government and he became the secretary of treasury. He started the first bank and is on the 10 dollar bill. Hamilton made many mistakes but also did lots of good things for America. At the end of the book he is in a duel with Aaron Burr who was his rival. Aaron Burr killed Hamilton in the duel and Hamilton's bullet went into a tree. Many people came to his funeral. People like Hamilton more than Burr. ( )

This book is about the life of the founding father, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. After his parents died, a hurricane destroyed his town, and he wrote a poem about the hurricane. Locals thought the poem was so good, that they put together a fund to pay for him to go to college in the mainland, America. After completing his education, Hamilton joined the Continental Army, and eventually became George Washington's personal secretary during the revolutionary war. Soon after he meet Eliza Schuyler, and they got married. After the war was over, Hamilton practiced law, and became the Secretary of the Treasury. His main rival was Secretary of Treasury, Thomas Jefferson. Years later, during the election of 1800, Hamilton endorsed Jefferson for president, to prevent Aaron Burr from winning the election, because Hamilton believed Burr was not divisive enough. This angered Burr, he dueled Hamilton, and won.
I give this book 3 stars. It was informative about Hamilton's life, I just didn't really like the way it was written. ( )